Sonia Sotomayor Essay

Ahmad Young

CRJU 1100

Criminal Justice Paper

March 21, 2015

Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born on June 25th, 1954, to Juan Sotomayor and Celina Baez that moved to New York during World War II. She was raised as a Catholic Puerto Rican that lived in the South Bronx, New York with her parents and her younger sibling. Her father worked as a tool and die worker, while her mother worked as a telephone operator, but then later became a nurse. At age 7, Sonia was diagnosed with Type One diabetes and had to inject insulin daily. At 9 years of age, Sonia’s alcoholic father died of heart problems, and her mother began to be emotionally distant. ("Sonia Sotomayor." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015). Sonia was inspired by the Perry Mason

At Cardinal Spellman High School Sonia was on the forensic team and elected to the student government. She was determined from a very young age to make a difference in the world. Once again, she graduated her high school at the top of her class. In the fall, Sonia Sotomayor entered Princeton University as a History Major on a full ride scholarship. Very few women attended Princeton at this time and very limited amount of Latinos (less than 20). By attending not one of the best high schools in the country, she had very low writing and vocabulary skills; but she put in long hours in the library to work up her abilities. Became a moderate student activist and co-chair of Acción Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Students Association) organization. Acción Puertorriqueña filed a formal letter of complaint in April 1974 with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, saying the school discriminated in its hiring and admission practices (no Latino teachers or no class about Latin American Studies). In 1976 Sonia Sotomayor earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University, graduating Summa Cum Laude and receiving the university's highest academic honor. Soon after graduating from Princeton Sonia Sotomayor married her high school sweet heart Kevin Noonan at age 22 on August 14th, 1976. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and

Sotomayor tried cases such as robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality and child pornography cases. (Lewis, J. (2015, January 1). Sonia Sotomayor Biography.) Sonia wasn’t afraid like most attorneys to venture into tough neighborhoods, because that’s where she came from. In 1983 she tried her highest profile case, the “Tarzan Murderer” who would ‘fly’ into apartments rob the tenants and shoot them for no apparent reason. What made Sotomayor a remarkable attorney was that she could simplify the case enough so that the jury could understand better. Hispanic on Hispanic crimes saddened her the most, because she couldn’t understand that with the whole world being against them they could commit crimes and bodily harm against each other. After 7 years of marriage, in 1983 Sonia and Kevin divorced due to the pressure of her work and unrecognizable differences, the two did not have any